Imagine a super-cold, ultra-thin layer of electrons trapped in a strong magnetic field. Normally, electrons move independently, but under extreme conditions, they start behaving in a highly coordinated way — so what’s happening here?
Well, the electrons are forming a new quantum state where they move as if they were fractional particles rather than whole electrons. This rare and special state of matter is called the fractional quantum hall (FQH) effect.
It is of great importance as it could lead to the development of topological quantum computers, which are believed to be more stable against errors than current quantum computers. Plus, FQH may also facilitate the creation of new quantum materials and applications.
However, detecting and studying FQH in detail has been very challenging using the existing methods, which involves measuring a material’s ability to resist electric current flow. A team of researchers realized this problem and discovered an entirely different approach.
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